Foul.
Mere seconds remain in a pivotal basketball game. You're headed to the free throw line, your team down by only one point. Two free throws await.
Your jersey is soaked with sweat, your hands are shaking from the immensity of the task at hand. But you make your way to the stripe 15 feet from the hoop, knowing that it's all on you now.
The hoop looks like an orange as you set your feet and begin your pre-shot routine. You finally look up, and out of the corner of your eye see thousands of screaming fans twisting their bodies and testing the limits of their vocal chords with one goal in mind: make you miss.
Maybe you think back to when you used to shoot hoops as a kid in your backyard. You try and plant yourself back in that unencumbered time, when there was no noise save for the ball pounding upon the blacktop. Relieved somewhat and buoyed by the power of memory, you focus on this immense task at hand.
The end of games tells us an awful lot about athletes. Do they wilt under pressure, or rise to the occasion? You can never really know until you see them forced into the situation.
Here's five of the most intense moments of selected sports—the common thread, obviously, that these times inevitably arise when the game is on the line in the dying moments. They are in no specific order. Enjoy.
Sporting Kansas City Puerto Rico Islanders Phoenix Coyotes Virginia Legacy California Victory
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